Gods Goal XV

Jesus' Death

In John 12:27-28 Jesus weighed whether to escape the hour of his death; but he rejected that alternative knowing that precisely through dying he would finish his mission of glorifying the Father.

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name. " Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and I will glorify it again."

The purpose of Jesus' death was to glorify the Father. To be willing as the Son of God to suffer the loss of so much glory himself in order to repair the injury done to God's glory by our sin showed how infinitely valuable the glory of God is. To be sure, the death of Christ also shows God's love for us. But we are not at the center.

God put forward his Son on the cross "to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins" (Romans3:25). In other words, by forgiving sin in the Old Testament and by tolerating many sinners, God had given the impression that his honor and glory were not of infinite worth. Now to vindicate the honor of his name and the worth of his glory, he required the death of his own Son. Thus Christ suffered and died for the glory of his Father. This demonstrates the righteousness of God, because God's righteousness is his unswerving allegiance to uphold the value of his glory.

From the Book "Desiring God" by John Piper